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U.S. tire maker CEO to French govt: Keep your so-called "workers"

Damn, these guys make the UAW seem like an industrious bunch! 3 hours of work in a day?!?

PARIS (Reuters) - The CEO of a U.S. tire maker has delivered a crushing summary of how some outsiders view France's work ethic in a letter saying he would have to be stupid to take over a factory whose staff only put in three hours work a day.

Titan International's Maurice Taylor, nicknamed "The Grizz" for his negotiating style, told the left-wing French industry minister in a letter published by media on Wednesday that he had no interest in rescuing a plant set for closure.

"The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three," Taylor wrote on February 8 in the letter in English to the minister, Arnaud Montebourg.

"I told this to the French union workers to their faces. They told me that's the French way!" Taylor added in the letter, which was posted by business daily Les Echos on its website and which the ministry confirmed was genuine.

"Titan is going to buy a Chinese tire company or an Indian one, pay less than one Euro per hour wage and ship all the tires France needs," he said. "You can keep the so-called workers."

Socialist President Francois Hollande might take some comfort in Taylor's view of his own country's business policies: "The U.S. government is not much better than the French," he said, referring to a dispute over Chinese exports.

Montebourg's office said the letter was an authentic response to Paris consulting Titan as a possible buyer of U.S. group Goodyear's Amiens Nord factory in northern France.

The minister refrained from an immediate reply: ""Don't worry, there will be a response," Montebourg told reporters on Wednesday after meeting Hollande. "It's better written down."

Union leaders were less cautious. CGT official Mickael Wamen said Taylor belonged more "in an asylum" than the boardroom of a multinational company.

DERISION

Taylor's comments are the latest blow to France's image after verbal attacks last year by Montebourg on firms seeking to shut ailing industrial sites prompted international mockery.

Combined with concerned over plans for a 75 percent "millionaires tax", Montebourg's antics drove London Mayor Boris Johnson to remark to an international business audience that it seemed France was being run by left-wing revolutionaries.

Montebourg has also lashed out at cheap imports of manufactured goods from low-wage countries like China and last year told the boss of Indian steelmaker ArcelorMittal he was unwelcome in a spat over a shuttered plant in France.

Despite having per-head productivity levels that rank among the best in Europe, economists blame France's rigid hiring and firing laws for a long industrial decline that has dented exports. Many also fault the country's 35-hour work week.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co's Amiens Nord plant employs 1,250 workers, who have been battling demands that they work more shifts or accept layoffs. The government said in January that the site faced imminent closure.

Talks with Titan over a possible purchase of the plant's farm tire section fell through last September after a failure to reach a deal with the CGT union on voluntary redundancies.

Titan did not return calls on Monday evening for comment, but the company's website says that Wall Street analysts have dubbed Taylor "The Grizz" for his tough negotiating style.

His letter to Montebourg accuses the French government of "doing nothing" in the face of Chinese competition.

"Sir, your letter states that you want Titan to start a discussion. How stupid do you think we are?" he wrote. "Titan is the one with the money and the talent to produce tires. What does the crazy union have? It has the French government."

True story: I used to run the restructuring (layoff) program from a financial perspective for a large F500 company. One quarter, two people with almost identical stats got laid off. One in America, one in France. Both had the same grade level, same number of years of service, and approximately the same salary. American got $12k as a severance package. Frenchman got over $400k. It was all due to laws, not the kindness of our hearts. And this was a relatively low-level employee, making ~$75k/yr.

"The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three," Taylor wrote on February 8 in the letter in English to the minister, Arnaud Montebourg.

man, i think i was born in the wrong country.

Originally Posted by Cousin Eddie

Nah, understeering into a tree in a Honda like a teenage girl ruins your street cred. I'd leave the door to show how hard you are.

Personally, I will keep buying excellent French-branded tires (Michelin) and not any outsourced Chinese ones.

I've always thought Michelins to be overpriced and only average. The HXMX 4s on my TSX are fairly terrible all around, so it's a good thing they are $$$ to replace. I like the Bridgestone RE-11s on my S2000, and am about to order Dunlop Direzza IIs for ~$600, which I expect will be pretty danged good, especially for the $$$.

I've always thought Michelins to be overpriced and only average. The HXMX 4s on my TSX are fairly terrible all around, so it's a good thing they are $$$ to replace. I like the Bridgestone RE-11s on my S2000, and am about to order Dunlop Direzza IIs for ~$600, which I expect will be pretty danged good, especially for the $$$.

Hit and miss with my experience with Michelin.
The HXMXM 4 was a mediocre tire, and super expensive to replace.
The X Ice Xi2 I have now are great, not expensive at all.
PS2s were amazing, but far too expensive.

I've always thought Michelins to be overpriced and only average. The HXMX 4s on my TSX are fairly terrible all around, so it's a good thing they are $$$ to replace. I like the Bridgestone RE-11s on my S2000, and am about to order Dunlop Direzza IIs for ~$600, which I expect will be pretty danged good, especially for the $$$.

The OEM-ish ones that Honda typically uses are wholly average, especially the ancient Pilot HX MXM4 that they fit to their sportier models (the design is at least 10 years old). It is almost universally disliked, like the Bridgestone RE92 that Subaru used for years and years.

And if love remains, though everything is lost, we will pay the price but will not count the cost. -Neil Peart
All hands, abandon ship!! Repeat, all hands abandon ship!!!!!
I'm addicted to track!
I'll stop "Hatin'" when YOU stop acting like a jackass.

True story: I used to run the restructuring (layoff) program from a financial perspective for a large F500 company. One quarter, two people with almost identical stats got laid off. One in America, one in France. Both had the same grade level, same number of years of service, and approximately the same salary. American got $12k as a severance package. Frenchman got over $400k. It was all due to laws, not the kindness of our hearts. And this was a relatively low-level employee, making ~$75k/yr.

So, it would seem laying off the French person was a poor financial decision?

They do have a different take on work, which I think is actually fairly healthy, but are we taking some blowhard CEO's hyperbole as factual?

This.

France has been criticized for its labour laws, but quite frankly, just like any Western country, whatever it does, it will never be able to compete with China for cheap labour rates... until the Chinese get fed up of being exploited and start another revolution.

They do have a different take on work, which I think is actually fairly healthy

Yes and no; I respect them religiously protecting their time off, breaks, and 37 hour work week, but their policies regarding severance, maternity leave, firing incompetence, etc, only serve to shoot themselves in the foot. Who wants to hire someone who will be so hard and $$$ to get rid of?

but are we taking some blowhard CEO's hyperbole as factual?

I'm sure it's hyperbole, but again, see my example. He is pretty right in spirit, if not in fact.

Yes and no; I respect them religiously protecting their time off, breaks, and 37 hour work week, but their policies regarding severance, maternity leave, firing incompetence, etc, only serve to shoot themselves in the foot. Who wants to hire someone who will be so hard and $$$ to get rid of?

I'm sure it's hyperbole, but again, see my example. He is pretty right in spirit, if not in fact.

Total agreement. I agree that there's fire under the smoke, but it bore mention.

And yes, I agree - Americans have gotten far too used to getting their free time and breaks whittled down to ****-all.

It's a global labor market, and if you are going to work like that, you're not competitive. If you're not competitive, youre **** outta luck, as those Frenchies found out.

They'd be better off opening an American factory in the south. Those people work hard and appreciate what they get.

2008 Ford Fusion SEL (Grandma edition)

Originally Posted by J-Tim

Still fail to see how a jacked up hatchback or wagon is better than the standard height one. Yes, putting the kid may require you to bend down a bit, but if the car is German, you're kind of used to that anyway.